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As this summer’s African Cup of Nations heads into the final round of group stage matches, South Africa face Morocco with a lot at stake for Bafana Bafana and their hopes of progression to the knockout phase.
Though Morocco are already through following two wins in their opening two games, South Africa head into Monday’s (17:00 UK time) game at Cairo’s Al – Salam Stadium on the back of a mixed start, leaving them needing at least a point to keep their hopes alive.
The Group D table sees the South Africans sitting in joint second with Ivory Coast, who face bottom side Namibia in their final group game, and hoping to better their result to clinch a last-16 place.
Both sides come into the game on the back of mixed form this year, though the Moroccans look to have found their feet at the right time having started the tournament well while South Africa have struggled a little, with a win and a loss so far.
Morocco have much the stronger squad on paper, with former Juventus and Bayern Munich man Mehdi Benatia marshalling a back-line also including Wolves player, Romain Swiss.
Experienced former Anderlecht player Moubarak Bousouffa keeps things ticking over in midfield while the talented Ajax man Hakim Ziyech, Younes Belhanda and Nordin Amrabat look to create for lively striker Youssef En-Nesyri.
South Africa’s squad is somewhat more limited and currently rely heavily on Brighton’s pacy frontman Percy Tau for goals, while Strasbourg’s Lebo Mothiba is a physical presence up front. Combative former Oldham player Dean Furman is also a key player in midfield.
The recent head to head record between the two sides is very tight indeed, with all three meetings between 2004 and, most recently, 2013 ending all square.
Nordin Amrabat (Morocco) and Dean Furman (South Africa) are both hoping to shrug off minor knocks to be fit for Mondays clash which is sure to be a tight, keenly contested affair. However, with Morocco’s extra class on the ball and attacking threats, I can see them coming out on top.
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